AACOM President and CEO Shares OME Perspective at National GME Meeting

AACOM co-sponsored the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM)'s Graduate Medical Education (GME) Outcomes and Metrics workshop, which was held on October 10-11, 2017, in Washington, DC.

The workshop featured sessions on a variety of topics related to GME metrics, from harnessing the power of “big data” to discussing policy implications. Stakeholders discussed meaningful and measurable outcomes of GME, possible metrics that could be used to track these outcomes, and potential mechanisms for collecting, analyzing, and reporting this data. The objective of the workshop was to work toward improving quality and efficiency of physician training, which is a key element in improving the health of our nation.

Stephen C. Shannon, DO, MPH, President and CEO of AACOM, participated on the Organizational Reactions Panel and provided his perspective on GME as it relates to osteopathic medical education (OME):

We need to ensure that we are considering osteopathic medical students when we discuss GME. The osteopathic medical profession has a longstanding tradition of community-based patient care. Osteopathic medicine has grown particularly in rural, underserved areas–such as Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee, Alabama, New Mexico, Idaho, Oregon–and elsewhere. These are places that experience the impact and benefits of osteopathic medical schools, which train and produce the next generation of osteopathic physicians who work in family medicine and other specialties. The growing presence of these physicians in underserved communities, facilitated by society’s continued investment in OME, illustrates the key role OME plays in meeting the needs of our nation.

A major takeaway of the workshop included the necessity of measuring and reporting on GME data because of the value it provides to our health care training and beyond. Stakeholders were encouraged to begin developing evidence-based education practices and fostering stakeholder collaboration, data standardization, data sharing, and research on the value of GME outcomes and metrics.

NASEM intends to release a summary document of the event, and workshop materials and videos will be available on NASEM’s website.